Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A New Momma (?)

Oh no, not me.  My dog.  Though in this case, the notion is equally absurd.  I know this is late in the day, but I had to share this bit of strange behavior with you.  It started yesterday...

I was in the yard gathering up the wee wandering chicks when I noticed the dog sitting in the grass with a peeping chick.  The chick had obviously fallen in the water, as it was completely drenched, and it wasn't walking.  Upon taking a closer look, his leg looked like it was pretty badly injured and I immediately assumed that Sandy our bulldog was to blame.  I gathered up the injured chick, dried him off, and put him in a box with food and water to heal, and banished the dog to her corner.

Today I let the chickens out (they roam in the backyard) and put the chick-in-a-box inside the makeshift  coop to get a little fresh air.  When I came back from the garden, I found Sandy laying inside the coop, with 4 chicks laying between her legs, sleeping.  When I approached, the chicks scattered and Sandy followed them around the coop, sniffing their hineys like a worried momma. 



One hung around and tried to jump on her back.


and hide under her belly.







When the 4 able-bodied chicks wandered off, she sat by the chick-in-a-box and whined.


And sat there. 


And sat there. 


I coaxed her out and she followed her chicks to the garden and worried over them there for a while. 


Sandy has never had pups of her own so I think she's adopted these.  She's pretty bossy though so maybe she just likes being in charge, who knows. 


Pretty sweet though, huh?

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

So sweet! Thanks for posting the pics up. <3

-Dyanna Pure
www.thesfstyle.com

Brenda said...

Ohhh! Awwww! My goodness, I loved this. :) What a sweet pup you have!!!

Sonia / COZY MEMORIES said...

aw my, Lisa, this is beyond sweet !! Please hug Sandy for me for being such a sweet girl & caring mama :)
thank you so much for sharing, I'll have to show the photos tomorrow to your nephews :)
xoxoxo
HUGS

ELK said...

fantastic story ..happy ending !! what will they do when they grow up I wonder?

Stripes and Stars said...

So cute...xxx

Marilyn said...

This is such an adorable thing. There have stories of other pairings so why not a dog and some chicks who miss their mama....and she is probably in a "nesting" mood!!!!

candacejean said...

Oh my gosh, I've always admired Sandy as a dog, but now she's just perfect! And that the chicks love her too? *Swoon*.

Thank you for sharing!

Marchi Wierson said...

oh geez that is the cutest!!!!

Kar said...

That is just too sweet!

Unknown said...

Oh, how sweet! I hope the chick recovers soon!

NewDominionBlues said...

How very sweet! A long time ago I had a tiny kitten for a few days, and my lab turned into a mother cat. The kitten would follow her everywhere, and Callie would keep a watchful eye, and periodically dole out "stay put" nose bumps. She was so frustrated that the little squirt wouldn't stay put where she could be watched. I imagine keeping track of a number of chicks would be just as frustrating. ;)

Vintage Tracy said...

That's pretty adorable. I swear dogs have that protective instinct, especially the girls.

t does wool said...

omg...too.too.sweet~~~~~

Wear Your Wild said...

cutest story ever!

Tiffany said...

Aww... That's the sweetest little story. Maybe she discovered the injured chick and made sure you found it.

I love how you called it 'chick in a box'

noricum said...

Awwww!

Sue said...

That's sooo cute! :0)
What sweet oictures! Thank you for sharing.

Andrea said...

OH!
The best thing I've seen all week!
Beautiful!
xo
Andrea

Unknown said...

how cute is that

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

How funny! What a sweet little pup, with her chicken babies. I really hope this continues and they start following her around the yard, just like a momma goose and her chicks.

Unknown said...

Those pictures are so adorable, and the story is brilliant. I find it fascinating when one species takes it on themselves to look after another. Interesting psychology going on there as care for others unrelated to us (sorry forgotten the correct word) is often seen as a very human trait.

Apryl said...

aww that is so adorable... I teared up a bit at your lovely doggy playing mama. so very sweet. we used to have a dog that adoped one of the kittens and would let the kitten comfort nurse on her even though she had no milk and had never had any pups for that matter.

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